Arvind Garg of L&T: I foresee huge demand for hydraulic excavators
Speaking on the present size and growth rate of the hydraulic excavators market in India and the market evolved in the last couple of years, Arvind K Garg, Executive Vice-President and Head-Construction & Mining Machinery Business, Larsen & Toubro, said, “The demand for hydraulic excavators has been registering a steady growth over the past decade. The Government’s impetus on modernisation of infrastructure, especially roads and highways has been the main driver for the growth. In recent times, demand for hydraulic excavators peaked in FY2018-19 to 25,000 plus units and was expected to sustain over the years. However, the pandemic hit the demand in 2019-20, shrinking it to about 18,000 units.”
He added, “Demand during Q1 of FY 20-21 was obviously severely affected, but we witnessed a sharp rebound from September 2020 and onwards, which helped the annual demand recover to the FY19-20 levels. Since the situation had reached a near normal during the Q4 of FY20-21, the demand was projected to grow by 15 to 20% in FY22, but unfortunately the second wave of the pandemic and consequent local lockdowns have again had an impact on the demand. We are hopeful that with the vaccination drive gaining pace and the pandemic being contained to some extent, construction activities will restart, leading to a revival of demand.”